iKnow What's in the Water
by whispered love 13
Summary: AU You know those tales of mermaids and stuff you used to listen to as a little kid? Well, they are real, no matter what anyone else says. I should know, I've seen them. Seddie Rated T for language and teen angst that will come later in the story!
1. Prologue

A/N: Okay, another story I am working on that has been stuck in my head all day. Hope you guys enjoy, R&R, and stay tuned for more!

Disclaimer: iCarly is not mine. I think we can all agree to that.

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**Chapter 1: Prologue**

My name is Fredward Benson. Don't ask me where that name came from, because I am just as lost as you out there. I guess it's safe to say that my mom wanted to name me Fred and Edward at the same time and decided to transmute them to make a name that is just as original as she says I am. I don't see the originality in me though. I am in a sense a nerd. I love computers, calculators are like my best friends, and I never get tired of watching Galaxy Wars: The Ghostly Avenger. But the one thing I also am is a realist. I know that the Galaxy Wars saga movies aren't real. I know that Korba is just a funny robot that has no way of understanding the proper usage of the English language, and that space ships are something that I will probably not see in my life. At least I can admit to these problems easily, not like those that strap fairy wings to their backs and automatically call themselves fantasy creatures. I don't believe in fairy tales, like my friend Carly does. For one, all that girly crap just gives me a sense of frustration. The princess falling ill and the prince fighting off dragons to rescue her just makes me want to punch a nub. I never understood how guys could get into stuff like that. I can understand the adventurous aspect to it, but it didn't even have that going for it, because the girl was always within reach. And that kissing crap, don't get me started on that.

I would hear these stories of true love since I was a little kid. When I was born, I remember my mom would read me that princess crap because she thought she was going to have a girl. When I came out with boy parts, she was very disappointed but tried. I would hear them all. I would hear the stories of the woodland creatures, the myths of the gods and goddesses, little red riding hood and the wolf that swallowed her up (actually I think that story is the only one that I can stomach, because someone dies). She even went as far as to try to convince me that there were such things as mermaids. Mermaids! Thank God for my allowance so I could go buy comic books worth reading, or at least look at the pictures. I swear If I turned gay I think she would have been proud of me.

It was these types of stories that would bring my newfound friend (and love interest) Carly and her older brother Spencer over. She liked listening to the stories that my mom would want to read to me, but I learned early how to close her out. But that didn't work on Carly. Of course she ate that up. She was a girl, and determined in proving fairy tale creatures as real, and Bigfoot was her main target to prove such a thing. Her brother was no help to that whole thing either, because he believed in something called the Beavcoon. Needless to say, I was surrounded by a bunch of nut jobs. And the only escape I had was my Galaxy Wars comics. And then the movie came out. So my salvation was both in my hands and on the screen by my seventh birthday.

I remember the first time my mom implanted that whole idea of mermaids into Carly's head. It was when I was turning ten, and my mom decided to throw me a party. She invited all of my friends from school, both boys and girls. When the time of the party came around only a handful of the few of my friends infiltrated my home and after the sugarless cookies and cake that was not cake (it didn't look like cake, smell like it, and certainly didn't taste like it), she sat us all down to begin what I like to label as "my most mortifying moment." Pretty alliteration huh?

"Okay everyone settle down." She told my friends, who wished were sugar crazy. Instead they looked a little bit brain dead due to the lack of sugar. Plus Geoffrey looked like he wanted to punch me because of that little setback. "We are going to listen to a story that Freddie has loved since he was just a baby boy! It's one of his favorites and one of my own as well!" she said overenthusiastically as she went into the room where we kept all the books she would read to me as I was growing up. As we plopped down one by one I took my spot next to Carly, who even then I was crushing on like crazy, but she didn't seem to notice how much I really liked her. Nonetheless I liked the way she wouldn't brush me off for being too close to her. When my mom came back inside the living room, my mouth dropped to the floor as she showed them that the story she was going to share was the one about the Little Mermaid that wanted to be a human. You can pretty much guess how it is: wants to be human, falls in love, kiss of true love, mushy mushy, kiss, kiss, freaking kiss!

It was just as worse if not more than when she would show people my naked baby pictures. She explained how I would always ask stupid questions like if they were really real, and if what happened in the story actually has happened in real life. I never did anything like that. I always was entertaining myself with comics while I was being held on her knee, bouncing in the process (she did that until I was around six). It was either that or I was just playing with blocks and just not pay attention to her. I didn't want to know anything about these pointless and false stories that she was trying to put into my head.

All the boys in the party stifled their snorts of laughter, and my mom kept on with her story telling. Between this and the baby pictures, I would honestly have rather had my mom show them naked baby pictures than have them think that my mom read to me cute stories of the forest creatures that could talk to people to help them out. I never heard the end of it. I still get called 'Baby Benson' from time to time in the locker room. Geoffrey started it, and still kept the teasing going, all the way until Carly and me entered school together. I was surprised they never went as far as to call me a fag. It wasn't until after that incident that I told her I wasn't going to listen to her tell me these stories anymore. I didn't want to hear them anymore, and I didn't want to know about them anymore. I wanted to play with my figurines, read my comic books. I wanted to grow up mostly, and these crappy stories of make believe were not being much help in that department.

It may have hurt her feelings to know that I didn't want to listen to it anymore but I was being serious. The last thing I needed was to have this keep going when I would go into high school. So she did, miraculously enough, and put the books away and never mentioned those stories to me ever again. It's hard to say that I missed them when they caused me nothing but trouble all through elementary school. But it needed to be done, so I could live a normal, average life.

That was, until I met a chick by the name of Samantha Puckett.

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A/N: Off the bat... does it sound interesting? Lemme know in a Review!


	2. Way to go Introductions

**Chapter 2: Way to go Introductions...**

It was the first day of a grand opening at a restaurant called Robin's Wieners. Both Carly and I were extremely excited to be getting a fast food restaurant close to our apartments. When you didn't have a license it was always good to have things within walking distance, and since neither of us had a car it would be the perfect option to go to, besides the Groovy Smoothie from across the school. I told her about it when we were on our way to homeroom and I suggested that we should go at night, so we could let the lines die down from the grand opening. After some convincing (like saying that I was going to pay for her and stuff) she finally agreed.

"So then, I'll pick you up around eight?" I asked slyly. Carly rolled her eyes and smiled, making my stomach do a flip.

"Freddie, you live right across from me. Just come over when you're ready and we'll go together." And with that, my spirits were lifted as she walked into our homeroom with me right behind her.

The rest of the day was a blur. All I could think about was my date later in the afternoon with Carly. I daydreamed about sharing a hotdog together, and ending the night with a goodnight kiss. My first kiss ever. Then we would be a couple, and all those sayings about me being gay or people thinking that I was a confused transgender would be put to rest. I would have a girlfriend and she wouldn't be just any girlfriend. She would be the girl of my dreams, as well as the most prettiest and most popular girl in school. It was no joke; she really was the best girl in our entire school. And with that type of reputation she had to be dating the best guy in school, which in a sense could be me. I was okay looking, and I knew my way around a computer, but the advantage I had over every guy in my school was that I was like her best friend. You know what they say: first best friends and them something more. I couldn't wait for that 'something more' part to get here and fast.

I wasted no time. As soon as I got home I showered, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair. Twice. I picked out my favorite blue striped collar shirt. It made what I had of my muscles (which wasn't much) stand out, especially when I would roll up the sleeves. I calculated everything from the style of my clothes, to the smell of cologne. I wanted everything to be perfect for our first date. I checked myself in the mirror and saw that there was nothing more I could do to look good. At least, in my head I looked good. I looked less like a dork, and more like a regular guy. Mission accomplished. I walked into the living room and lunged out the door before my mom would tell me anything.

Apparently what I thought was a date and what Carly thought to be a date were two completely different things. When I stepped out of my apartment I came across giggles and constant talking. It was all of Carly's school friends, the Clique of the high school at Ridgeway High. In other words, they were the popular group that any girl would want to join. They consisted of cheerleaders and dated all the jocks that would like to pick on me. Needless to say I was not on good terms with them. They all took one look at me and turned back around, resuming their idle chit chat. I was used to to their indifference, because they would always do that, but Carly, the good friend that she is, would pull away from the group and always spend time with me. I broke away from their excited shrieks and managed to open the door to Carly's apartment and slip right in. When I went in I saw Spencer lounging on the couch, watching an episode of Girly Cow with a bucket of buterrific popcorn on his lap.

"Hey Spence." I said with a little sigh. "Carly ready?"

"Almost dude. Going down to Robin's Wieners eh?" He asked. I nodded as I swiped a handful of popcorn and ate it. It was delicious, full of bad calories, the one enemy that my mom would always fight with me on. I would always get my fix on junk food here with the Shays. "You think they have a compact hot dog? Like one you can squirt into your mouth?" He looked at me, making me choke on the popcorn that was getting stuck in my gullet. I coughed it back up and gave him a look that said what the hell?

"What do you mean with that?"

"Just a thought but I was hoping if you guys could bring me one squirtable hotdog on your way back, seeing as how you two are going together." He said. After a while he looked at me with a straight face and asked, "You two are going on a date?" The tiny pout of my lips told him no, much to my displeasure. "Oh well. Don't worry dude she'll come around." He always said that. By now I was just waiting for the eventual part to get here already.

"Hmph. Yeah right." I snorted but still remained hopeful. As I kept watching Girly Cow on the television, I heard Carly come down the stairs. I turned around and had to catch my breath. She was wearing a bright yellow floral print dress that reached all the way down to her knees. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she was wearing a perfume that smelled like a sunflower garden. If I hadn't had more constraint I would have had my jaw fall flat on the floor in amazement to how beautiful she looked and how wonderful she smelled. She in turn, failed to notice how I was drooling over her.

"Hey Freddie. You ready to go?" she asked me. I shook my head to knock some sense into me and nodded in her direction, standing up with a big smile on my face. When we said our goodbye to Spencer she opened the door and she submerged herself into the center of the group of girls that were waiting for her outside her door. Then we were off.

Walking with the 'Clique' as they liked to be called was making me feel like a girl myself. Just an out of place one. So I straggled a little bit behind them, to show that I was still part of the group, but at the same time I was claiming my own independence from them. If any of the guys saw that I was hanging out with only girls, that whole baby Benson name calling would come back with a vengeance. Which is just what I needed at a moment in high school. More ammo to continue their name-calling.

When the group of girls and I arrived at the restaurant the lines were still outside. I groaned in aggravation as I lined up by myself as all the girls stayed to the side, continuing to catch up on their gossip (Carly convinced me that it would be better to just have one order for all of us, and I was of course the obvious choice). All different types of people were there: quiet ones, loud ones, jocks, Goths; I even saw a group of Catholic schoolgirls. All in line to try out the delicious wieners that Robin supplied. It seemed that the line was moving progressively slow, and even more so when the girls that were surrounding Carly were keeping me out of the loop. I could tell that Carly was not to pleased with the idea, but still she stayed with the girls as they talked about everything: the hottest boys in school, the class clowns, and when they went onto the nerd category, the only nerd they could think of was me. I tried acting nonchalantly as they continued their dissection of me. But it was hard not to pay attention as they kept saying that my clothes, hair, even personality screamed nerd. I wanted to say that I was proud to be one, because that meant that one day they would work for me (my own joke to myself but it was actually to just comfort myself) but around the same time I felt a wave of air brush past me. I turned around I saw blonde curls and a faint smell of sea salt. Which was weird, because I didn't remember seeing curls that were blonde in front of me, and the last time I smelled sea salt was when I went to beach with my mom. She didn't let me go into the water, but I was close enough to smell the salty air that sprouted from the sea.

"Uh, excuse me?" I poked her shoulder. She turned around and I came into contact with bright blue eyes that made me stagger back a little bit. They were so pretty, and at the same time intimidating. I put my focus away from them and observed other aspects of her face. Her skin looked tan but not the kind of tan that looks cancerous; it was a pretty shade that made her red cheeks stand out in a way that was interesting to say the least. And her lips were a bit chapped but full and plump. I hated to admit it but she was a pretty blonde. Probably as pretty as Carly.

"What do you want you nub?" she told me, a little annoyance in her tone. Suddenly, the attraction that I had for her dropped from my shoulder, and I was more offended than attracted to her. Who the hell does she think she is?

"You just cut in front of us." I told her as I motioned to the girls on the side that were away from the line. She scoffed right at me and turned back around. I found it astounding that she simply brushed me off like I was nothing. I gotta admit it did make me feel like nothing. Like for once I was not the dork that everyone labeled me as. I was a nobody in her eyes. I made her turn around again, by placing my hand on her shoulder and turning her around by force.

"Look guy, I have been waiting here for a good long time so buzz off or else." She warned me.

"Or else what?" I challenged her. The look she gave me back actually made me step back a little. She looked like she was ready to attack, and not hold anything back. The coolness that I acquired faded quickly into her confident smile that she gave me, telling her that I was not going to bug her again. Which was the exact opposite of what I was going to do. I don't know why but she seemed…interesting. She may be able to break my arm in an instant, but something told me that she wouldn't ever go that far. She was more like a scared little girl than a tough thug. And more than anything she looked like she was going to be somebody worth noticing. And being that I was standing alone while Carly and the popular crowd were in their own little world, I figured what the heck. It was never a bad thing to make new friends.

"So you aint leaving are ya?" I asked her again. I wanted her to continue talking to me. I could tell by the way she leaned away from me she wasn't interested in holding a conversation. But I was by myself and she was too, what more could I do? What more could we do?

"Nope. Now can I wait in line in peace you dork?" She told me over her shoulder, not bothering to look in my direction. I was trying to figure out why I wanted to keep talking to her. She was insulting me, calling me names, being extremely rude, and not really bothering to make much of a conversation. She was pulling me in to something I could not put my finger on. She was drawing me into her without even taking a second glance in my direction.

"Freddie, still no luck with the line huh?" Carly came by my side, a good distance from me but enough to know we were close friends. I looked over to the girl who was in front of me, showing no interest to my chat with the girl that could ask me to do anything. I'm pretty sure she could see that I was willing to do just about anything for Carly just by the way she was looking at me. That's if she ever turned around and saw us talking. "We were thinking of probably going down to the Groovy Smoothie instead. Less of a line you know?" she suggested. For some weird reason my gaze went up to the blonde girl again. I didn't want to leave on bad terms, even though she looked like she wanted to punch my guts and leave her alone. But I couldn't. "Freddie?" Carly's voice broke through my thoughts.

"Yeah…" I said, ready to break out of the ridiculously long line and go along with Carly and all those girls. I forgot about that tiny detail. Me and all those girls that don't know me, don't care to know me, don't want to know me, all because I was a nerd. "Um, actually Carly, you guys go ahead, and if the line goes by faster I'll call you guys back." I explained. She simply shrugged and went off with the rest of the Clique to the Groovy Smoothie.

"Poor whipped Freddifer." I heard that blonde speak again. The way she came up with a nickname so quick made me feel closer than ever, but it still made me feel like I knew nothing about her.

"You know I could come up with a nickname for you too if I could catch your name." I said hotly. She turned around at that, and again her blue eyes shone with an intensity that made me look away. I didn't like the way she could stare straight at me and make me feel uneasy and flattered all at the same time.

"Good luck with that Fredweird." She said. By the corner of my eye I could tell she was smiling. Smiling because she knew my name and I didn't. She had an advantage that I only wished I knew.

"Samantha!" I heard a voice call from the back of the line. I turned and saw another girl, just as beautiful as the blonde, but with dark brunette hair that reached all the way to her waist and misty green eyes that sparkled even in the dark. "Thank goodness." She sighed, grabbing the blonde's arm delicately. "I went all over looking for you to tell you that Mark is coming, looking for you."

"Okay Marina chill dude. I'll be going I guess." She reassured the girl she called Marina. Marina in turn sighed with relief as she saw that she was going to come peacefully without force. She broke away from the line and I felt a bit sad that she was leaving me here alone. What's worse; she was leaving without saying goodbye.

"See you around Samantha?" I blurted out, covering my mouth only a second later. It wasn't her that turned around, but Marina, her eyes not having the same effect on me like her friend did but all the same making me turn my head away from her gaze. I saw how she quickly turned to Samantha, a look of discouragement plastered all over her pretty round face. She came up to me and punched me square in the chest, making me convulse on the floor before her. I didn't know she had that much strength!

"My name is Sam." She said and walked away with her friend telling her something discreetly.

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A/N: Chapter 2 done. More to come by the end of the week! Leave me a little review telling me what you thought! :)


	3. Thank God for Smoothies

**Chapter 3: Thank God for Smoothies**

The next time I saw the girl known as Sam (you know the one that punched me in the gut and left with that one girl right after she caused me physical harm) was at the Groovy Smoothie. I didn't know why but I looked for her in the classes at Ridgeway, hoping she was a student there but with no such luck. So then I looked for her Splashface, and that too came up with no results as well. There were no leads as to who she was. It was like she had no Internet life, like so many out there do. Finally, after not seeing her for weeks I assumed that she was just visiting family from out of town so I tried forgetting about her and her blue eyes. But it was not easy. I had dreams about her. It was like her shiny blonde hair and her salty sea smell hypnotized me, all in a matter of seconds. I would sometimes wake up and I could swear I felt a breeze of air come inside my room when all the windows were shut tight due to my mom and her phobias. But time came and went. And the dreams were slowly disappearing into the back of my head. I had to keep going with school and stuff, so the less I saw her the less interested I was in who she was.

Mostly I was just occupying my time with Carly to keep my mind off of Sam. Usually I loved hanging out with her, but now, it just seemed like something I should do to stop thinking about her blonde hair and her bright mischievous blue eyes. But it was a neutral engagement since I could remember. We would hang out in school together only when she wasn't hanging out with the Clique, which was rare, especially with prom coming up (well, it wasn't actually coming up, but they liked to plan their whole year around this one event). So when it wasn't her that I was hanging out with, I would go and hang out with Gibby, who was always happy to spend time with me. He was part of the football team (due to his size) and he was the only one of the jocks that I could stomach. All the others were either retarded or just liked making fun of me. Plus he liked the same type of movies that I did. We would discuss the latest movies and planned on seeing the next Surge of Power and Galaxy Wars together. We were close buds and I thought about telling him about Sam, but in the end I didn't, because for one, I didn't know anything about her to talk about her. The other reason: I just didn't want him to know about her and my newfound fascination.

When it was around the third week that I didn't see Sam, it was around the same time that I went to the movies with Carly and Gibby to go see The Surge of Power; an action/robot film that Gibby and I have been waiting forever to come out. We both had tickets from a month ago in advance. When Carly's "girls" were unavailable, she decided to tag along with us instead. It was fine and all, neither of us disagreed to having Carly come along although we were worried that she wouldn't get the idea behind the story, so after a few quick explanations, she went in with the both of us and really enjoyed the movie. At least so she says, but that look on her face told me differently. But in my opinion it was great! The robot tried taking over the world and the nerd that created him saved the day by destroying his creation: a deadly virus that he implanted wirelessly. The CGI graphics were stunning, the actors' portrayal was convincing. And the robot was very advanced in movement. And the story line was also very tight and form fitting. He saves the day and gets the girl. I would be happy enough just to get the girl, and anybody else could save the day.

I opened the door to our favorite hang out and I was attacked by a salty sea breeze. I didn't see how the people didn't notice it. It was so palpable that I had to close my eyes and open them again to make sure I was at the Groovy Smoothie and not at the beach. My eyes started looking all over the place for blonde curls and when I saw them, right in the corner of the building, my feet started moving toward her. It was like she was a magnet that was pulling me toward her.

"Sam?" I said, surprised to have seen her there. It had been so long since I last saw her and I had to make sure that she was indeed real. She turned around and my eyes clashed with her deep sea blue ones and I knew it was her. She disappeared from my life and now, here she was, sucking on a smoothie through the straw that was in her mouth. She first looked at me with a puzzled look and when she saw it was me, she didn't say anything. At first, I thought she forgot who I was, but at the same time, she gave me a once over and that gave me a assurance that she didn't forget. It made me give out a sigh in relief. I was happy that I was still in her thoughts, as strange as that sounded. But I knew that she didn't expect to see me here. Either that or she just didn't expect to have seen me a second time. After that look she gave me, I thought it was safe that she wasn't going to pummel me so I pulled out a seat and prepared to sit down. I felt comfortable around her. Comfortable enough to sit down without her permission.

"What are you doing?" she asked me quickly. Her voice rang out and captivated me, like it did the first time she talked to me directly. For some weird reason I felt confident in ways I never had before. She was giving me a reason to be cocky, to try and impress. I was never the one to be that way, but here I was, trying to be cool and not a nerd in front of someone I came in contact with just once.

"Sitting down. You look lonely." I smiled in her direction, trying to be friendly. She just shifted a bit away. Suddenly, I felt two hands fall down on my shoulders and rest there.

"That's my seat." A voice rang behind me. I turned around and saw a guy that was pretty tall. He sure was taller than me. His hair looked dirty blonde under the light, much like Sam's, and shaggy; the likes of a surfer dude. His arms showed muscles, but not like those dudes that do steroids or anything like that. And his face was long, and hard looking. He stared at me with an intensity that matched only Sam's fierce but playful one. This guy's face was just fierce, and it scared the chizz out of me.

"Mark, don't." Sam said. I looked at her to see that she was annoyed with the whole situation. Like she knew that he wasn't going to do anything to me. I gulped and hoped that she was right about that.

"You know this person?" He said, almost in a disgusted tone. I looked in Sam's direction to see that she was unfazed by what he said. She showed no emotions when she looked at me. And even less when she looked at him. Like if she was bored with the whole situation. She rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Marina knows him. He's a friend of hers." She quickly lied. His grip was loosening on my shoulders as she kept explaining. "This nub came looking for her and he was going to wait for her here so I told him to sit. Now just leave him alone okay?" The guy called Mark was still a little suspicious of who I was and to tell you the truth, he looked like he wanted to punch me with as much force as Sam did a few weeks ago, or more.

"It's okay," I said, getting up from the chair. "Just tell her I'll see her later?" I told her, hoping she would get the message that I wanted to talk to her. She looked in my direction and it made me turn away. The ferocity she held in her blue orbs was more than I could handle.

"Don't count on it dork." She teased. I could tell, without even looking at her, that she had a smile on her face. I took the hint and decided to rejoin my gang, but not before taking one last look at Sam and her tan face. She wasn't looking at me, but she wasn't looking at the guy Mark across from her either, who took one sip of her smoothie and spit it back out. I was shocked; all the smoothies here were delicious! I guess she noticed that I was still gazing at her, because she snuck a quick look at me, and I blushed and turned away.

"Who was that?" Carly came up to me, my favorite smoothie flavor in her hand. I took it and started drinking it through the straw as I sat down away from Sam and the other blonde haired guy. She sat across from me and Gibby (who took off his shirt) sat beside me.

"Some girl I met when we went to the grand opening for Robin's Wieners." I told her. She turned around and looked at her, then at the guy that was beside her and turned back to look at me, a disapproving look on her face.

"I don't remember her there." She said. "And is that her boyfriend? And why would you be talking to her?" she said, sucking on her smoothie. She was asking a ton of questions that I wished I could answer her, but to tell the truth I knew just as much as she did.

"She was in front of me when you came over to tell me about wanting to go here instead and no, I don't think that's her boyfriend." Or maybe he was by the way he kept trying to get close to her. I hoped not. It was weird that I barely knew her and already I was feeling a bit uncomfortable that she was seeing someone. I could see that Sam was not enjoying that attention he was giving her (like how he tried holding her hand, reach to touch her hair, even his smirk was annoying her by the way she would be scrunching her nose) and at times she pushed him back to his seat. All he did was just smile at her rejections, making me feel angry for some reason. Finally, I saw her get up and smack him, and walked out the door. I found the guts to get up and leave Carly and Gibby, and chase after her.

After exiting the Groovy Smoothie, I looked all over for her, thinking that she didn't go far. I couldn't be more wrong. She was halfway down the block, ready to cross the street. How did she run that fast?

"Hey! Wait!" I yelled after her, trying to keep up. Sam turned around and saw that it wasn't that jerk that was chasing her, but me, and actually did wait before crossing the street.

"What do you want now you nub?" she said, almost the same way she did around three weeks ago. Again I had to step back and take in her voice. It was just so melodious.

"It's Freddie, remember?" I said as I was panting for air. Man, I was just as tired as if she knocked the wind out of me.

"Yeah I know, but nub suits you better. Especially when you're hunched over like that." She said, pulling out a leg of fried chicken from her pocket.

"What's that?" I asked as she munched on it gracefully, if munching the way she was could be called graceful.

"A leg. And no, I'm not sharing." She said, taking another bite. She sat down under the lamppost, enjoying her greasy chicken leg, and I found myself sitting next to her, mindful of keeping a space just in case.

"So, where you been?" I asked her casually. I couldn't help but know how come I haven't seen her in weeks. And I had my chance this time to ask more than a simple where have you been. I could ask her so many questions, but for the moment, not seeing her in so long was what I wanted answered more than anything.

"Around. Just because I haven't seen you means it's the end of the world." She said smartly. I smiled at that. At least she was talking to me.

"Well, does that mean that you don't live around here?"

"Beach side." She replied, her finger pointing toward the rich side of town. Or the beach, I couldn't be sure, seeing as how I was looking at her devour the last of her chicken leg.

"So that's why you smell like-" I stopped when she threw me a death glare. I coughed, "I mean that you have a tan."

"Better." She said, throwing me a punch on my arm. It hurt a bit, but not as strong as the other time that she hit me in my stomach. "So what are you doing following me like a lost puppy Freddork?" she asked me, throwing the bone into the street and picking her teeth with one of her nails. It disgusted me, but at the same time fascinated me.

"I'm not." I said defensively. "I just wanted to know what- I mean why you left-"

"You mean why I ran out on Mark?" she completed my sentence. I gulped and slowly, I nodded. "None of your business is it Fredlumps?" she said simply.

"Doesn't hurt to let out feelings you know." I concurred. Maybe that could get her to start talking. I wasn't a stalker or nothing but I wanted to know more about her.

"Lips are sealed." She said. I frowned. Couldn't she see that I could be someone that she can trust? "Although you look like you could keep a secret." She reassured me. "It's nothing personal I just need to keep things to myself."

"But what could be so secretive about something like saying how much of a jerk that guy is? That's no secret. Anyone with eyes could see that." I inquired, hoping to get something else out of her besides her name and where she lived. She brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her legs around them. She closed her eyes, as if she was trying hard to decide whether or not to tell me something and then stared at me again, making my cheeks hot and my stomach uneasy. Normally it was Carly that would give me these kinds of feelings, but something about her eyes, her smell that just made me feel even better than when I would spend time with Carly.

"Well-" she began to explain. I felt myself inching closer to her, both emotionally as well as physically.

"Samantha!" Marina's voice made me stand up abruptly, breaking the eye contact with Sam. I suddenly felt guilty to be under a lamppost with Sam, alone. "Mark said that you ran off and-" she looked at me again with that same facial expression that she had when I saw her last time: confused and disapproving. "I've seen you before." She said. I nodded mutely in her direction but she ignored me as she dropped down to Sam, and picked her up. "Why did you run Sam? He was just being playful and-"

"That jerk is a stubrag. I don't want to see him again."

"Well that's going to be hard to do since he is your father's-"

"Marina!" Sam covered Marina's mouth with her hand. I raised my eyebrow in suspicion as she looked at me. "Let's just go okay?" she said, uncovering her friend's mouth and not turning around to say goodbye to me. I started to follow in the direction that she was going with her friend but she turned around and stepped right in front of me. "And you, leave me alone. It's bad enough I have one jerk in my life. I don't need two."

"I-I uh-" I stammered. She thought of me as a jerk? I thought I was being friendly. I never thought I was being anything more than a person keeping her company. Maybe a bit invasive, but not as far as to be called a jerk.

"Just stop bugging me." She looked at me with a stern but sad look "It'll be better for all of those involved." She said, turning back around and holding onto Marina's shoulder, as if in support. I stood there dumbfounded because I couldn't believe that I was acting like a jerk to her. Nothing that I did could be labeled as being a jerk. I just followed her to make sure she was okay. I asked if she would like to share a secret, but not forcing her to.

As my explanations were roaming through my mind, my phone began to vibrate and I pulled it out and saw that Carly was calling me. I pushed the talk button and placed the phone close to my ear.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Freddie? Where did you go?"

"I went to catch up with that one girl."

"The blonde one?" she asked me. "So you do know her?"

"Well, no but-"

"Then why did you go after her if you don't know her Freddie?" she asked me. I wish I could answer her that question. But I didn't have an excuse. I just wanted to talk to her. And now, well she just got up and left and told me to buzz off. Now I would be lucky to even try to see her again.

"Freddie are you still there?" Carly's voice rang through the other side of my phone and into my ear.

"Uh Yeah. I'm on my way back to the Groovy okay?"

"Actually, Gibby walked me home, so I'll just talk to you tomorrow, I just wanted to know where you were because your mom was looking for you when you wouldn't answer your phone."

I wasn't answering my phone when my mom called? "She didn't call me." I told her "Hang on." I looked at my phone and saw that, true enough, I had five missed calls from my mom, each one minute apart. Oh chizz!

"Carly, I'll call you back!" I said, hanging up on her and dialing my home phone. I knew I wouldn't hear the end of this when I would get home.

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A/N: Chapter 3 done and the next one by the end of the week. On a roll! Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)


	4. The Beach is Beautiful

**Chapter 4: The Beach is Beautiful**

The following day, I sought out to find where Sam lived. This key information that she gave me the day before had to give me something of a clue as to who she is. If not that, then I would at least know where she lived so I could go and visit her. Not that I would, but it was good to consider it. The only problem was, it was a Thursday and not only did I have school, I also had swimming lessons with my mom. Ditching either one of those 'responsibilities' as my mom liked to call it was going to be tough. Carly had me for over three classes and she knew I am never absent. I was too much of a 'good boy' to do anything along the lines of truancy. On the contrary, I am always the one covering for her so maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea. I say it was time for a little pay off for all those times I had to cover for her.

The swimming lessons however were going to be much harder to get out of. If I told my mom I was coming down with something, she would take the day off and tend to my every need. Which was the last thing that I wanted. If I told her I had extra work to do after school, she would be waiting in her car in front of the school. I didn't know what lie to tell her. I was never one to lie, so coming up with a lie in general was hard. Plus, my facial features always gave me away. That's why, on my way to school, I had to ask Carly for some ideas as well as a few pointers to get away with the lie.

"But I still don't understand why you don't want to go with your mommy to swimming class." She said, making a sort of kissy face in my direction. I groaned inwardly. "Why don't you just tell her that you don't want to go?" She simply asked.

"Because!" I exclaimed, hoping she would stop with her reckless teasing. Normally, I would find that desirably cute. But lately, anything that Carly would do would be borderline annoying, making me feel a little worried about my feelings for her. And it all started when I met Sam, which also made me a little more worried. "I don't want to hurt her feelings! I just want to not go one day so I can do something else."

"Something else like what?" She asked. I could feel myself struggling to find the excuse without actually saying it.

"Well… it's this uh… well how c-can I put…" I was tripping on every word, and when I thought I had the excuse, more words would take its place, making me stumble all over again.

"Freddie spit it out!" Carly yelled, impatient that I couldn't say my reasons.

"It's personal all right?" I said, finally letting out something, but not giving anything away. She eyed me suspiciously, but then gave out a defeated sigh, which made me also give a deep sigh of relief.

"All right, I'll help you." She said, and began instructing me on what to say without saying anything at all. Lying 101.

She told me to explain to her that I had to go to the library, for some research. And if she wanted to come and wait on me I had to say no, and stand my ground. She convinced me enough to know that I was no longer little Freddie Benson. She told me I was a growing man, and space from my mommy (to which she said I should call her either mom or ma because mommy was too childish) is what me, a growing man, needed.

"What about the swimming lessons? Freddie, you could drown! Do you have any idea what that would do to me if you ended up drowning?" Her hysterics were always somewhat amusing, as long as it took place in my house. If she were to go into one of these crazy panic attacks she knew too well, it was beyond embarrassing.

"I'm not going anywhere near the water mom." I said. It was true; I wasn't going to go near the water, just the houses that were near the water. She still had that disapproving look.

"But I don't understand why I can't wait on you like I always do! It's not like I have anything better to do than to make sure you are safe in the library reading your books." She said, her lines very visible on her face. I knew this would upset her. She liked doing things with me. But having her join me in search of Sam was something I could not let her do. This was something I wanted to do.

"Mom, I'm sure you can find a million things to do while I am in the library. If not, you can always take a day off."

"A mother never takes a day off. It is a twenty-four/seven job!" she said, her voice getting a bit high as she said it. "What if you get a paper cut or a mountain of books falls on you and I am nowhere in sight to help you?"

"I'll call the librarian for a band aid, and if the pile of books scenario happens, I'll yell for superman okay mom?" I said, hoping humor could calm her nerves. With the way she was staring at me, it was the opposite of what I was hoping for.

"That is not funny Fredward Benson." She said simply. But her face said more than a simple sentence. It was scary actually. So scary that I found myself backing away from her, and expecting her to turn into one of those dragon monsters that eats a first born child or something. "It is not my fault that I love you to death." She said very calmly. It made me think that that's what a dragon monster would do; lower the defenses and when they are, take the advantage and attack.

"Mom, I won't be in any trouble. I'm going to just look up some research and then I'll just be on my way home okay?"

"But what time will you be home so I can make you dinner or stay up waiting for you?" she asked me, making me roll my eyes, a bit irritated. I didn't know how long I was going to stay out. Beachfront has a ton of houses, but I couldn't tell her that.

"I don't know what time I'll be home but I'll call you okay?" I said, gathering the things I needed which was already in my backpack. I started walking out the door when she stopped me by a simple touch of her hand on my shoulder.

"You will call me every hour that you are at the library all right?" she made me promise her. I simply nodded and bolted out the door before she would make me promise anything else.

I was relieved. This was the first time that my mom actually was going to let me go somewhere on my own. And the only way I was able to pull it off was by not telling her the truth. There was a sense of a rush in that fact alone. That I was, in a way, defying my mom and going somewhere else that she didn't know about. I was ecstatic as I jumped on the bus that would take me straight where I needed to go. I passed all the city buildings, my school, and pretty soon the salty sea breeze was going up my nose again.

For a minute I thought that it was Sam, standing next to me or something, because she smelled exactly like the sea, as if she originated from there. The splashing of the waves was also so tempting, considering the weather was ideal for going to the beach. But that wasn't the reason that I was going to the beach, much like the surfer dudes with their boards, or the giggling girls in bikinis three seats ahead of me (that I have been staring at for a while. What? I'm a guy so sue me).

As soon as I reached the bus stop I was looking for, I jumped off the bus and began walking up this big hill. I decided to start at the nicest of the beach houses. And for some weird reason, all the nice beach houses were perched on the hills. I was getting tired after the fifth house, so I thought it was better than nothing and approached the first door. But as soon as I got close to the door to the first house, I found my knees trembling. My gut was wrenching, and above all, I felt my hands getting all sweaty. I never knew I could feel such a pressure. The only thought that was going through my head was that I might come face to face with Sam's father. Sam, I think I can handle seeing. Sam's father on the other hand, was something I don't think I could even if I wanted to.

There was reason behind this so bear with me. She was a tough person, at least when she would be around me. She looked like a fighter, so naturally I would think that the only reason she would be like that would be because her father was a professional MMA fighter or something. And she lived here along the beach, where there were the most expensive houses I have ever seen. They looked expensive, must mean that they are expensive. And MMA fighters are paid very well, so I think it's safe to say that her dad could be holding that kind of occupation.

So I didn't knock on that door. Or the one after that. Or the one after that. I basically just walked and walked until I reached the sandy beaches. I didn't have open toed sandals, so I took off my shoes and socks and let my feet adjust to the sand underneath my toes. Next thing I knew I just sat there, watching the waves splash against each other, and every one standing, swimming or laying down taking in the rays of the bright sun. I saw the parents that were being cautious as their children were playing in the water or making sand castles. I looked into the sea to see the surfers recklessly taking wave after wave, being pounded hard after eating it. And I couldn't keep my eyes off the girls that were tanning. I wanted to lie down like the others (seeing that I didn't have a surf board or a shovel and pail), but I was risking it all by just sitting here, letting sand bunch up in my pants' pockets. But I didn't want to get up. I wanted to just sit and stare deep off into what could have happened if I did grow the pair that I needed to knock on the doors.

Man I knew it was a bad idea to have come. Well, no it wasn't a bad idea, I just hated that I decided to chicken out at the last minute. I probably had my one and only chance to go and see her, where she lived, talked to her, take in her scent, watch her golden curls as the sun went down, maybe even kiss her…

The point of the matter is, I wanted to see her, and I didn't. I wanted to learn where she lived, and my assumptions about who her father is scared me to the point that I didn't want to know where she lived. I had my opportunity and decided not to take it. I got up and kicked the sand for a bit in frustration. I was mainly angry with myself for not having the backbone that I knew I should have grown by now. But having a mom like the one I have made it impossible to have that apparently.

It was sunset by the time that I decided to call it a day. I couldn't believe that I spent an entire afternoon just watching people have fun at the beach, when I could have gone to class, taken notes, or even do research like I told my mom I was doing. I reached the bus stop and threw my backpack on the floor, crossing my arms and not really focusing on anything. A complete waste of a day. That's all that I could think of. A big fat waste.

"I have to take you home!" I heard a voice say behind me. But it was no ordinary voice. It was a voice I heard from anywhere. I spun around and managed to see blonde curls and silky brunette hair, both of them reaching the small of their backs. I couldn't believe it; Sam and her friend were right there.

"I thought I was good for one more night." Sam's voice rung out into the air, making me unconsciously move my feet in her direction. "I was wrong." She groaned a little in pain.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked aloud. Marina turned around, shocked to see me standing there. "If you need help I can-"

"What are you doing here?" Marina said, while Sam started to breathe a little heavier. All of a sudden, she bent over, holding her stomach and threw up. But there was something weird about it: it was nothing but water. She clutched her stomach harder and it looked like she couldn't breathe. Like it was hard to intake air.

"Sam! If I don't get you home soon you'll-"

"Then just take me home and stop talking!" Sam yelled at her face, holding onto her arm again as she tried getting up. "And you," she looked at me with her fierce blue eyes, "get out of here."

"I'll help you get her home." This was my chance. I pulled her over my head and kept her steady. Marina however, yelled and pulled her off me. "What the hell I can help you get her home-"

"Your assistance isn't necessary. Just do as Sam wishes and leave us." She said, carrying her over to the beach.

"Where are you taking her?" I yelled after her, picking up my backpack and running after them.

"Why is he still following us?" Sam said, letting out another harsh groan. Marina let her touch the sand, and I saw how Sam stood up a little better, like if she had more energy all of a sudden.

"Better?" she asked her.

"A little, but not the same as if I were… somewhere else." She locked eyes with me. "Listen, Freddie right?" she said my name and I caught a lump in my throat. The way she said my name was the nicest way she ever said it. "I need an ambulance, but we don't know where we are. Can you go see the streets and call? My phone died so I can't and Marina here doesn't-" she fell down against the sand again, and I went to her, trying to keep her steady. Again she threw up more water, and I saw that she was gasping for air again.

"Please go! I'll wait with her here." Marina cried. I wasted no time. I ran out into the street and pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

"I need an ambulance by the beach." I began, a little short of breath from the quick sprint I did. "Yeah, the streets are-" I turned around and saw that the two girls were gone from where they said they would wait. My legs started running back to the beach as I yelled to the guys on the other line, and ultimately hanging up on them. I looked all through the beach and saw two bodies running towards the pier. It was getting dark quickly, but I still could make out their silhouettes. How they traveled through the sand so quickly baffled me. But I reached them as Sam and her friend reached the end. They didn't notice that I was there with them, by the way they didn't look back or even acknowledge me. And what happened next made me do what I did after.

"What are doing?" I yelled at her.

Marina grabbed Sam and quickly threw her over the pier into the water. And then she turned to me, a look of worry and concern over her face. Like if she just exposed a huge secret and prayed that I would not know about it. Impulsively, I started taking off my shoes, pulled off my backpack, and threw my shirt over my head. I wasn't the best swimmer, but I started running toward the end and climbed over, ready to dive over the water. I felt Marina's hand touch me, but only for a second, because in the next one I jumped, holding my nose and letting the water swallow me.

It was ice cold. Colder than I thought it would be. My mind automatically told me to get out get out get out. Numbness went all over my body. But I went further and further down, stretching my hands out and then pulling them back as my feet furiously kicked to try to keep going deeper. The jeans that I had on had been dead weight, my shirt was floating all over when I pulled my arms forward. And what was worse was that I couldn't see anything. Every time I opened my eyes, sand would go in mixed with water. I kept my mouth shut, but my nose was taking all the sand in, all the salty water. It was horrible, being in ice-cold water, fighting the current underneath the waves; blindly searching for someone I could not see. I didn't want to give up; this was my moment to grow the backbone.

But something touched me, and I screamed under the water, inhaling a whole bunch of it. I started choking on the water, my eyes opened and I felt my body tense. I couldn't believe that my life was going to end in the water, while I was trying to save someone that I didn't know. I felt everything around me darken, I couldn't hear anything, and my body just stopped trying to swim. I just simply gave in to the water. The only thing I pictured was Sam's face, and how I wanted to say how sorry I was that I was unable to save her, and how I wished somebody would come and save me.

The last thing I remember was feeling something grab me, after that I faded into the darkness.

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A/N: Finally updated! yay! Leave me a review telling me what you thought (Anonymous reviews are enabled!) and until next time :)


	5. Is is Cold in Here?

A/N: I am on a roll here! One more chapter up this week! Yay!  
And big shout out to Pigwiz, every time I read your puns it makes me crack up to the point that my mom wonders why I'm laughing out loud.  
Onward to the story!

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**Chapter 5: Is it Cold in Here...?**

It was strange. Like I knew I was breathing, but nothing was functioning in my body. I felt tingles all throughout, coming and going, passing up and down my arms and legs; like it was being reawakened. Either that or I was like a robot and was being reprogrammed. I could feel the slow beating of my heart but I still felt lifeless for some weird reason. My brain was telling me to move my hands, but they felt heavy, too heavy for me to lift them. My legs felt like they were glued to the sand. My eyes stayed shut, I was too lazy to open them, and my throat felt hoarse, like if they shoved a shovel full of sand down it. The only thing I could do was hear. And the only thing I could move were the tips of my fingers amongst the cool sand.

Wait a minute sand?

I tried moving my fingers again, and true enough, there was sand underneath them. Which meant that there was no water, so that must have meant that I was safe. I was rescued. At least I think I was. I was alive, or else I was dead, and heaven had a ton of sand. Yeah, heaven, I don't think I have done anything worth going to hell. I wasn't that bad of a person. Almost dying was the worst thing I have ever done, and I don't think that should be reason enough to send me to hell for.

I felt something against my chest as I slowly started breathing, which meant that I wasn't dead. Or maybe I was, I don't know. Does one need to breathe when they die?

"He looks stable, now can we depart?" I heard a whisper. Thank god I knew that voice. It was Marina's. I wanted to take a deep breath and laugh at the world. I was alive after all.

"We're under the pier, who will come here and see us?" Sam's voice came out too. I wanted to take an even bigger breath because she was alive as well. I have no choice but to take the guess that she was the one who saved me. And here I thought I was going to be the big hero. Well, either she did or Marina, but I doubt she would be willing to save me. But wait, wasn't she drowning? And wasn't that the reason I jumped and risked my life in the first place?

"But you're incapable of reaching the ocean. Look at where you are." She cautioned Sam again. Isn't that the whole reason? The further away we were from the water that almost killed me the better.

"I'm fine without touching the water." Sam said. Why would she still need to touch the water? And why did Marina sound so worried? "Plus, I feel fine when it doesn't touch me either. Like, almost as if he-"

"He is nothing! I don't even know why you rescued him. He almost discovered who we are." Why she rescued me? I was a human being! Only a heartless person would let a person fall to their death. This Marina chick was starting to both bug and scare me.

"But he didn't so it's cool." Sam reassured her.

"If he were to wake up-"

"I'm hoping he will." I could hear the smile on her voice. She was being playful. "It's okay Marina. You can go back if you want. The moon is still out and I feel fine." Sam said. I felt something stroke my hair, and imagined it was her hand, fixing it just a little bit. I felt her other hand on the top of my chest, as if to check to make sure my heart was still beating. It was very slowly, and I tried my hardest to keep it at that tempo so it wouldn't show that having her touch me was exciting. Thank god I know self-restraint.

"Oh no." she said, very seriously, "Who knows what you will do if I leave you alone with him." The way she said it, her tone of voice as she said it. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew she didn't like me. Her voice was dripping with disdain and making me feel as dirty as the sand I was laying down on. The pressure was gone from my chest as Sam pulled away. I heard her footprints in the sand as I assumed she walked over to where Marina was sitting. A cold breeze blew past me and I felt myself shudder silently.

"We're no different. I bet they would think the same chizz about us freaks." Sam said, defending me. I felt her staring at me, both with fascination as well as a sense of understanding. Her footprints came closer, and again the touch of her hands was in my hair again. It was nice, even though I couldn't see her. I liked how I could hear her, smell her. I wanted to touch her hand in reassurance, to tell her that I was fine, and to thank her for saving me.

"Don't start with that." Marina said. "It's bad enough that you want to associate yourself with them, you know how much your father disapproves of such behavior. You should have been over this years ago."

"Well, I'm not, I still like it over here so he just has to suck it up." Her hand tore away from my hair once again and I found myself frowning. She was probably the first person to have ever just stroked my hair in an affectionate way. Carly would always pet it, like a friend. Not something I rather enjoyed, but I put up with it just because I was that much of a push over. But the way Sam was doing it; it was nice. "The food is what keeps me coming back." She said. Coming back from where?

"I'm just glad once you marry your betrothed-"

"I'm not gonna marry that nub." Sam said simply. I didn't even know she was in a relationship with someone, much less getting married. Then my mind came to the guy from the Groovy Smoothie, how he was all over her. I think his name was Mark? I would personally call him brooding, muscles, and Neanderthal-ish dude that was a wannabe surfer. How he spit up the smoothie from the best smoothie establishment in the world still baffled me. And I was right when I detected that sense of protection as well as a bit of jealousy. His grip when he grabbed me by the shoulders wasn't a brotherly one; it was one that was laying out the cards on the field to tell me where he stands. If I had the same amount of muscles (along with being as tall and angry looking) I would have done the same.

"You won't have much say in the matter, he is strong and your father has taken an interest in him to lead the kingdom since he has no sons. He is the perfect candidate-"

"Shh! Just because he's asleep doesn't mean he can't hear!" I heard Sam hiss. But it was too late. I heard kingdom, no sons, and the fact that her soon-to-be husband was big and strong. I felt like I was thrown in some sort of a fairytale. Kingdoms and betrothals and princes' oh my! Something by the way she said that made me think that she knew I was conscious, and that the reason behind my closed eyelids was voluntarily. I was tired of lying down, eavesdropping on her conversation. I gathered enough strength to pull my body up halfway. I heard Marina gasp and try to pull Sam away. I felt my hands move up and grab her, but she slipped right out of my fingers. Like if she had butter on her hands or something.

"Someone's coming!" She told her, not noticing that I was getting up. I felt my legs, my chest, everything become lighter so I stood up, opening my eyes to complete darkness. I closed them again to try to have them adjust, rubbing them with my hands. It was still night out. I saw something moving away from me and made a big splash in the water. And then I saw Sam, as she was falling into the water, but at the same time falling back to where I was.

"Sam?" I said, making her freeze in mid dive. My voice was still raspy, but it was loud enough to make her stop from getting further into the water. She froze, and then silently cursed, almost as if she was angry she got caught. But what it was I didn't have the slightest idea. I couldn't understand her. It was night out and that water must have been freezing. It was when I jumped in. What is she thinking going into the water? "What are you doing?" I tried getting up all the way but fell back down, my legs were like lead, probably from the excessive kicking I did probably not too long ago.

"Don't worry Fredbag. I wasn't going to jump like last time." She said, pulling herself away from the sea and plopping next to me. I felt my cheeks redden. She never voluntarily sat next to me before. I did it before, when we were under the lamppost. And she remembered my name and didn't call me a nub like she did the last time I saw her. "You okay after your failed attempt at being a hero?" she snickered. I glowered in her direction, but not enough to show that I was angry. I don't think she would have minded though; she would probably enjoy the anger that would radiate from within me.

"The point of the matter was that I tried." I tried giving myself some credit. But as I said it, it just made me feel more feeble and pathetic. Feeble because I wanted to do something heroic and in the end failed miserably. Pathetic because a girl had to save me, when it should have been the other way around. "So what happened? I don't remember anything after I fell in the water." I tried playing it off as I brought a hand up to my face, but deep down I knew. Marina pushed her in the water; I saw with my own eyes that she did that. I was curious though, to hear what she was going to tell me. And since I was under a pier, tired and freezing with no way to get warm, I had nothing to lose. Well I know that I had to go and look for something to keep me warm, but when was I ever going to get some alone time with this weird but fascinating girl?

"I went over the pier and Marina tried saving me but it was too late." I eyed her but she didn't notice and continued giving me her version of the story. "She didn't want to, she wanted me to stay still while you called for the ambulance, but I felt fine really. And I kept bugging her to take me so we ran to the pier." That explains how they got there so fast. "And I dared her that I could get a barnacle-you know those really hard to get black things that sprout on the legs of the pier-" she made tiny o's with her hands, and held out her palm, showing me the size of the barnacles, "and slipped on some green algae and fell. Good thing I can swim or else that would have been two dead bodies they would have found in the morning." She elbowed me, making me hold my side, and silently tell myself that it didn't hurt. But secretly, it did. "Then you jumped over, thinking I fell and not only did I have to save my ass but I also had to save you. That about sums it up." She said, looking in my direction. Even in the moonlight I could see her dark sea blue eyes, so playful and yet so strong, making me turn away quickly.

"But you were sick, puking up… water." I said, vividly recalling how she was hunching over and throwing up nothing but water.

"Drank too much water I guess. But then I got it out of my system and felt better." She explained. She didn't get up and for that I was glad. Actually, I was just glad that she didn't leave me here all alone. I liked sitting here talking to her, even though I knew I should have told her by now to help me up and find somewhere I could get a towel or somewhere warm or even to go get my stuff or something. I had to go home. But with Sam, I didn't feel rushed or anything at all. On the contrary, I wanted to stay here a little while longer and just stay here talking to her. Her and just her. That's when I realized that someone wasn't present.

"Where did Marina go?" I asked. Wasn't she here just a second ago? "I heard you two talking?"

"Getting your things at the top of the pier." She pointed a finger up to the boards that were acting like a shelter to the both of us. The only thing it wasn't doing was covering us from the cold breeze that would come by once in a while, making me shiver uncontrollably. Sam, however, didn't even notice (or should I say feel) the cold. "I guess I should take you to a hospital or something before you die of pneumonia or whatever is spreading around these days." She said, a look of agitation on her face. I don't think she knew what to do. But she was in the water too. She should have shivering uncontrollably like I was.

"I just need to keep warm." I said through chattered teeth. "Like body heat." I didn't notice it while I said it but after I saw that there went my cockiness again. I just didn't know why but she did that to me. She arched an eyebrow, shrugged and started getting closer. My feet didn't feel so heavy as I too started getting closer in her direction. My first time having such a close contact with a girl that made me turn away in embarrassment. And she was willing too! I was just centimeters away from her skin grazing my arm. But the minute I touched her skin I recoiled and so did she.

"Why are you so cold?" I yelled, "and slimy?" I rubbed my shoulder, feeling the same thing I felt when I went for her hand: a slippery type of sensation.

"Why are you so wet?" she yelled back, "And dumb?" Dumb? The wet part was obvious; I was just in the water. The dumb part was what threw me off. I didn't notice until now that her arms were still wet. She hadn't touched the water since she came to sit down with me. I felt my face, my arms and saw that they were dry. The only thing I still had on me that was wet like she was was the shirt and pants, not even my hair was that damp anymore. She, on the other hand, looked like she just jumped out of the water. Her hair was still hanging loose, the water bringing it down, making it look even prettier straight. "Just forget about it. I went in a little and got out quickly, that explains why I'm still like this okay?" She explained and I couldn't stop from staring, amazed that she was still wet, and she wasn't shivering like I was. She wouldn't look my way. I observed that she didn't want to look my way.

"What is going on?" Marina came from behind, making me jump and turn her way. She was carrying my shoes, shirt and backpack. She stared at Sam the entire time as she handed my things to me and went to Sam's side, automatically noticing something was wrong. "What happened?" She looked from Sam's direction, to mine, and then back to Sam again.

"Nothing." Sam quickly replied, but Marina didn't believe her. I could automatically tell by the way she was looking at her. "I was just getting bored of sitting down next to this nub. Honest." She added, insulting me along the way. Well it was nice while it lasted. She started walking away, further down the beach, kicking the sand a few times.

"Wait, Sam-" I started getting up but Marina pushed me back down. She was pretty skinny; I didn't think she had that much strength to push me down so easily. When I tried getting back up she pressed her finger in my chest. I stared up at her and saw a serious look come upon her pretty round face.

"You need to refrain from seeing us." She warned. "You are not making this a simple feat so if you could please-"

"Marina!" Sam yelled from over her shoulder. Marina shot up like a bullet from where I was and took one last nasty look at me and departed, reaching Sam's side in less than a few seconds. She didn't even turn around to say goodbye. Neither one of them did. Figures. She would always just get up and leave, and I would always look her way and wonder who she was and why I honestly cared. Her strong eyes, her hypnotic voice, and lets not forget her desirable need to cause me nothing but physical harm should tell me straight away to get as far away from her as possible. Yet here I was, freezing my ass off when I should have gone to a hospital or something by now. A stronger breeze brushed past me and I reached for my shirt, put on my shoes and started walking towards the street. I figured there would be no point in chasing after her right now, unless I wanted to get gangrene on my toes or something. I had to take care of me first. I'm pretty sure she was going home anyways. The only destination I could think of right now was Carly's house. I took out my phone from my jeans... Wait, from my jeans?

True enough, my phone was completely washed. Who knows how many times my mom called... Oh shit. Mom...

The last thing I wanted to think of was the look on my mom's face if she saw me like this: trembling under the only source of heat: the lampposts lighting up the streets. When I told her I was at the library, the warm and comfy library.

Sure didn't sound like a bad idea right now.

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A/N: Hope you guys liked it! Feel like leaving me a little review? I love reviews. :)


	6. You Can't Be Serious

**Chapter 6: You Can't Be Serious**

I managed to grab a bus out of the beach, hoping to make it home in one piece. I was still soaking wet, with no phone, and just enough bus fare to get me where I needed to go. It was pretty much a bad situation I was in, and the only way I could make it worse would be by not going home at all. So I pulled down what looked like the last bus for the night and stepped inside, relieved that it was neither cold nor hot inside, just average, if there was such a name for temperature.

The busman gave me a disgruntled look as I stepped into his bus, noticing that I was practically soaking wet from head to foot. But money was money, and he would accept it wet or dry, just like everyone in the world. After paying my fare I looked for a spot that looked the comfiest (and driest), frowning to see a hobo had taken it and made it his personal bed, snoring loudly to add effect. So I walked to the end of the bus and plopped myself down, waiting for the bus driver to tell me I was home and I could calm down my mom's nerves. The drive home wasn't as long as I remembered when I took it and for that I was grateful. The faster I could get home, the better. I never thought I would be happy to want to go home. But it was understandable; I was alone and cold, and a home was a place to be comforted, even though I knew I was in for a lecture, a tick bath, or both at the same time.

I was dropped off a few streets from the apartments, and the cold air came back to filling my lungs as I was dropped off and forced to walk the rest of the way. As I entered the apartments and after avoiding Lewbert's outbursts ("You're all wet! And that's making the floor wetter!"), I ran up to the elevator and fumbled through my bag to take out my apartment keys and see if there was any possible chance of sneaking inside without my mother noticing.

That of course was all wishful thinking, because as soon as I stuck my key through the hole, the door swung right open and my mother constricted me in her arms. I don't know whether it was a good thing that she was hugging me so closely or it was also possible that she was trying to suffocate me for making her as upset as I did.

"FREDDIE! WHERE WERE YOU?" She said, half laughing from joy and half sobbing from the excessive worrying I put her under. She pulled away from me and inspected every inch of me and automatically noticed the sand on my clothes as well as the smell of the beach in my hair. Of course she was going to notice that right off the bat. She was my mom, nothing ever went past her, and if it did, that would be the day. "You weren't at the library." She said matter-of-factly. I just avoided her gaze, but her voice penetrated me harder than any look she could ever give me. "You went to the beach? And without parental supervision! What were you thinking? Why are you so wet? Did you fall in? What if you drowned? Did you manage to swim? How could you have lied-"

"Mom!" I cut her off just as I was preparing to yawn; exhaustion was tempting me to just fall backwards onto the floor. I didn't take a chance to notice that I was so tired. It was almost as if it crept up out of nowhere, then I realized it was just my mom putting me to sleep. I knew I should have been telling her I was sorry about lying, that I would never do it again but I was surprisingly tired. I just wanted to sleep. Either way I would be hearing more about this tomorrow in the bright and early morning. Right now, however, I didn't want to do anything but close my eyes and sleep.

I didn't even want to think about Sam, even though I couldn't get her out of my head all the way home while I was on the bus. Nor couldn't I get Marina's words of caution out either. What did she mean that I was making everything more difficult? My head was circling around that simple incomplete phrase that she said out of Sam's reach. I pushed my palm to my face as I sighed deeply to cover another yawn. I can worry about this whole thing tomorrow. Right now I just want a nice shower to get the stink out of my clothes and hair. "Can I just go to bed? You can scold me tomorrow." I offered passing by her and walking towards my room. She held me by the shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. I guess I would be receiving the scolding tonight, whether I was awake or not.

"Not before you tell me…" She said, swinging me around in the process, a puzzled look on her face. I can understand her being all concerned about me, even her anger. But her look of bewilderment was a little hard for me to understand. And for some reason that woke me up again. She pulled my backpack from my shoulder and pulled out a bracelet. "Who gave you this?" Even in the low light that was coming from the room it sparkled like a million lights were shining on it. It dazzled me as it dazzled my mom, by the way that she was looking at it. It was almost entrancing the both of us that we were starting to become unaware of what we were talking about before.

It wasn't mine. I wanted to say that out loud. I was afraid however, afraid of saying anything to disrupt a moment of peace it was giving us, when it should have been filled with chaos. I expected my mom to begin accusing me of going to the beach to hang out with girls and that my hormones are out of whack every time I was with a girl, but in the end her anger and her worries were subsided. She wouldn't look away from it. To me, I was just trying to figure out how it came across my bag. It held seashells of ordinary colors, not like the ones you find on the shores, and each one had an interesting shape. The funny thing about it was the string; it looked like it was intertwined seaweed, tied in between each shell, so that in case any of them fell off, the others would still be in place. It certainly was a beautiful art piece, to say the least. I took it carefully from my mom's hands and held it in my own hand. It was surprisingly light; I would have guessed it weighed a lot more due to the sizes of the seashells. My mom didn't say anything else as she walked past me and went to her room. I watched as she walked away from me and closed the door behind her, not making a sound of any kind.

I wanted to laugh at my fortune that this bracelet gave me. Who would have thought that this tiny little wrist ornament would have relaxed my mother? She was the last person to ever be this calm if would ever do something like this. Normally she was a hurricane until I would be the one to promise her I would never do anything like this ever again. That would be the only time. But now, she didn't say anything else, just walked away from me and went to bed. I took it as a sign for me to also go inside my room and land on my bed, the mattress feeling light as a feather underneath my weight. It brought my eyes to close as I crashed against it, and close my eyes instantly as I kept clutching the mesmerizing bracelet.

When I woke up I couldn't stop the strong smell of the ocean from escaping my room. It was like it invaded it altogether, in every corner and stayed there. I tried pushing the blankets and pillows closer to my face, to hide away from the smell, but that wasn't improving it. Rather it was making it much worse. That's when I realized the smell was coming from me. I didn't take a shower last night like I was going to. Instead, I just fell asleep. Just great. Now I had to change my sheets and put these to wash. The growling of my stomach wasn't helping much either. It was driving me insane, making me stand up and stretch to get myself awake and go in search of food. As I did, I noticed the same bracelet from last night in my hands. It didn't shine as it did last night. It actually looked like an ordinary bracelet to say the least; a bracelet that would look pretty on a girl.

Maybe I should give it to Carly as a present, I thought as I pulled my shirt off through my head. I must have been really tired last night that I thought it was shining inexplicably last night. And it made my mom go mute when she was ready to chop my head off. Now I'm thinking that I should keep it, this thing could have some strong powers if it can distract my mother from scolding me. Who knows what other powers it possesses?

I dropped the bracelet by my computer desk and removed the rest of my clothes to jump into the shower, since I didn't do that last night. After a deep cleansing as my mother reminded me to always say, I picked out a fresh batch of clothes and stepped outside my room, tripping over a tiny stack of books that were placed right outside my door.

"Ow!"

"Freddie! Is that you? Are you alright?" I heard my mom's voice come from her desk. I looked over in her direction to see a bunch of boxes surrounding her. She glanced over in my direction, giving me a once over to see if I was fine and went straight back at what she was looking for, disappearing in the mountains of papers and other junk that was all around her.

I rubbed my elbow and knee that broke my fall and I picked up the books that I tripped over and turned it around.

_Tales of the Deep _and the other one read_ So You Think You Know About the Ocean…_ I have never seen these books before in my life. And when I opened them there were thousands of scribbles in the corners, edges, and even where the pictures were. It seemed as though the book was more filled with my mom's writing than it was with its own information.

"Mom, what are you looking for?" I said, walking in her direction, still observing the notes she put in the book. "What is all this?" I had never seen my mom be so interested in something besides me. But here she was, enveloped into something that held nothing about me, pictures of me, or videos of me.

"Well, that bracelet that I found in your bag last night interested me to the point that I knew I saw it somewhere before. So I took out some boxes that has some little tidbits about some things. It was in those fairy tale books I used to read to you. You know about those-"

"I try not to remember or know about those times mom. I used to get a lot of problems. Remember the birthday party?" I said, torturing myself as I was trying to remember a dark moment in my life.

"Well it's not your fault honey." She assured me. She was right; it was hers. But I wasn't smart enough to run my mouth and say that aloud. Actually, I just didn't want to hurt my mom's feelings. "Aha!" she said pointing at something I couldn't see. She turned around and showed me the exact same bracelet in black and white and some writing underneath it. "I knew I've seen it in these books before. Where is it so I can look at it again?" she asked. I told her it was in my room and she handed me the book as she went to go get it. I took a closer look at the picture and began reading:

_Pulsera Del Mar._

It was in Spanish. Crap. I knew some Spanish, but not enough to translate a page of it.

"Mom? What does it say?" I asked her as she came up to me to snatch the book from my hands and begin reading.

"Honestly Freddie what is the point of taking Spanish classes if you can't translate a simple passage." She said and returned to her book, translating out loud, even though it was hard to catch on what she was saying. "It says that this bracelet," she held it up, "is a bracelet that comes from the water, or ocean since you, my delinquent little liar," I rolled my eyes, "found it there. It says that this is what mermaids would give to sailors they fell in love with, if they started talking about them, and also if they came in contact with them more than once. Because it was dangerous to associate themselves with humans, the mermaids that would come in contact with humans would give them this in exchange for their silence. Think of it as a permanent parting gift. It says that the females gave them this as something for the sailors to remember them by, and they would take it and keep it with them every time they ventured out to sea and if there were ever in any shipwrecks, it was those sailors that would be wearing the bracelets that would be saved. It would shine brighter than any star to pinpoint exactly where they are so that they can be saved before being claimed by the King of the Sea." She stopped her translating and took one last look at the bracelet before handing it over in my direction. "Looks like you found a mermaid." She said amusingly.

But my face was stern and studious about the trinket that she handed me. It was something to remember a mermaid by? But Sam wasn't a mermaid. She was just fond of the water if anything. She lived by the sea because her dad was rich so he could afford a house like that. But before anything like that, who could honestly believe in mermaids? It was just as bad as believing in vampires and other mythical creatures. Come on, there's no such thing! I mean if there were such a thing, then the whole pigs' being able to fly is also just as believable. I had to laugh at my mother's vivid imagination, trying to play around with my head. What a practical joker she was becoming, even going as far as taking out a bunch of boxes that were probably empty just to add to the joke.

"Come on mom, you can't honestly believe this can you?" I said, still laughing out loud. But she was not laughing, at all. She was serious about this fairy tale. I stopped and just looked at her, hoping for her to say something like "gotcha!" But she didn't. Instead she grabbed the bracelet from me and began to tie it on my wrist. "Wait ma-"

"No buts Freddie." She said, making sure it wouldn't fall off my wrist. "If the legends are true-"

"There's no such things as mermaids mom!" I yelled at her.

"I would rather not risk it if you think about going back to the beach. I'm just happy they were there to save you, even though whatever reckless thing made you go into that water. You and I both know you are horrible at swimming." I was ready to confront that but she let go of my hand slowly, calming me down from my apparent anger. I was calm when I should have been feeling other emotions. "I hope they can save you every time." She looked up at me and I shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her gaze much like I did last night. "You will wear this at all times." She told me.

"Come on mom, you can't possibly believe-"

"I believe in a lot of things Freddie. So sue me if this is another belief of mine, but if it keeps you safe you will do what I say and that's final." She said, packing up some papers and books back inside the boxes. I looked up at the bracelet and for now it was abysmally dull. Not at all like I remembered it last night. I sighed. I didn't have much a choice and I wasn't much of a fighter when it came to my mom. Some things just weren't worth fighting for. There are much more important things that I'll fight for in time.

"Fine. I'm going over Carly's to see if she's ready for school. I'll see you later." I said, walking out my door only to stand outside in the hallway and knock on Carly's. It took her longer than usual for her to answer the door and when she did, I saw her make-up less and her hair in disarray. I jumped back a little; I've never seen her like this, so it came as a surprise for me.

"Hey Freddie, what's up?" she asked, yawning as she stretch against the doorframe. I'm not going to lie, but when she did that it made me catch a lump in my throat. I cleared it as she positioned herself back to normal.

"Ready for school?" I asked unaware of the time. She looked at me with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"It's six in the morning. How about coming back at the right time to go to school." She said as she shut the door. I muffled an apology and headed straight back inside my apartment. My mom was still reading something when I came back in. No doubt it had more to do with the mermaid myths. I never noticed my mother's dark fascination with myths, I would always think it was just a way to keep me entertained when I was a baby and when I was growing up, but now, I see it was more for her own purposes. She wanted to know about them, and by the way countless books surrounded her, she wanted to know all about them.

"I thought you were going over Carly's?" she said, looking up from her book. Looks like I still held her attention more than whatever were in those books.

"It's six in the morning." I said flatly. She shrugged and went back to reading, as I went into my room to get my bag and open some windows as well, the ocean's smell still as strong as it was in the morning.

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A/N: Ahhh! It's been forever since I updated any of my stories! Curses for going away on vacations without any electronics! Well I'm back now and typing away but I felt as though this story should have been updated before Where the Sins Lie, being that I already had this one done while I was away. I just never published it. :P

Well hope you guys liked it and leave a review and all that good stuff. And I'll have Where the Sins Lie Chapter by the end of the week. Promise! If not I'll have to give out free cookies!  
Until Next Time. :)


	7. The Sea is Calling

A/N: Holy bejesus I have come back!

I think it's safe to say that I am a terrible author for not updating this story in 3 years. The hype with Sam and Freddie died with that damn arc and that damn ending! Cheez its! What was that Chizz all about huh?

But, I'm back to writing. I want to see this fic to the very end! With the happy ending that the writers of iCarly failed to do for our favorite couple! Huzza! Who's with me? Anyone? No? Just me? Okay.

On we go with the story!

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**Chapter 7: The Sea is Calling**

I dreaded going to school with the bracelet glittering on my wrist. As if I didn't have enough problems being "Baby Benson" to the football team. I might as well add a tiara on my forehead.

The rest of the weeks were very unpredictable if anyone can believe that. I went to school every day, passed my tests that needed to be passed, studied when it was study time, and walked to and from school beside Carly. I still had the girly bracelet on my wrist but cleverly covered it with a long sleeved sweater. Only when hot weather liked to pay us a visit did I have to gain the guts (more like the nerve) to show it off with a short sleeve t-shirt. And when I did Josh, Kevin and all the other football jocks never let me live it down for the rest of the day.

"Look at you Fredwina! Nice bracelet, it matches your eyes!"

"Got a necklace to match it?"

"Aww Freddie, you need a dress to go along with that pretty bracelet?"

I tried to take it off, but my mom made sure that I took it with me to school every day. She would make me breakfast, tie the bracelet on me in one of her ridiculous knots (you know, the type of knots that if you mess around with it there's a good chance you would never take it off?), and send me off to school. Every time that I would come back in the house I would be inspected by her, and she would take it off, making it look so easy. I tried seeing how she undid the knot but no matter how many times I would see her do it, I never could learn how to take it off. Plus, I don't think that she would ever let me go out again if I wasn't wearing the bracelet. That's right, she would rather have me fail and miss class than go out into the world without that thing. She was seriously in denial that whatever myth she read was actually real.

So I decided to prove her myth as a bust and venture out on Saturday morning to the beach. I wanted to find Sam and ask her about why she gave me such a fruity bracelet.

I woke up and changed, hoping to get out before my mom would wake up. I didn't want to tell her where I was going, or what I was going to do, because I didn't want to worry her. Worse, I didn't want her to want to join me. Luckily, she was still in bed when I opened my bedroom door. And by the time I tiptoed to the front door and out the hallway, I knew I was in the clear. I opened the door wide enough to slip through and shut it behind me. I was, for the moment, in the clear.

"Freddie?" I heard a voice call behind me. I turned around after the shutting the door and quickly shushed Carly from making any more noise that could awaken the monster that was my mother.

"What are you doing up so early on a Saturday for?" I demanded to know. What would any high school student be doing up so early?

"I was just getting the morning newspaper," she flashed the newspaper in my face.

"Oh."

"Where are you going so early?" Carly wasn't dumb, she probably noticed the suited up sweater, the long pants (with swim trunks underneath), and the sunglasses I had in my hand.

"Shh." I put my finger to my mouth. "I'm going to the beach."

"The beach?" she asked me. "At six? What could possibly be at the beach at six in the morning?" she said.

"Nothing!" I whispered defensively. "I just thought it might be nice to see it and all you know-"

"Is it because of that bracelet thing?" she quickly speculated, all the while glancing down toward my wrist. Out of habit I covered it with my long sleeve of my sweater.

"So what if it is?" I defiantly stated.

"Freddie you don't honestly believe what your mom said about it do you?" she snickered. I told Carly about the fable and she just laughed her head off, when I was hoping she would be the one that would actually be the understanding and comforting type, she totally turned out to be the opposite. I was surprised that she didn't join in on the taunting. Maybe because I was her friend. Or maybe because she saw me everyday and had her own chances to come up with something witty but playful in her eyes. I'm not sure.

"It's not that I believe it, it's that I want some answers. And maybe I can find some at the beach. It's where it came from anyways." I told her. She flashed the prettiest smile, making me get butterflies all in my stomach again like I used to so long ago. Only Sam was able to do that now, but Carly, no matter how much I wanted to forget about her was slowly coming back into my head.

It had been almost three weeks since I hadn't heard from Sam, let alone see her. It was like she disappeared from the surface and went back to where she came from. And I tried going to the beach again, but that proved to be difficult without any funds. I wasted all of my allowance last time, so meeting her at the beach was out of the question. But did I honestly think she would be looking for me? No, why would she? Maybe just to make sure I was still alive and had refrained from touching seawater like my mother told me not to.

"I'll go with you." She said, shutting her door in my face. After collecting myself I walked right in, and Carly was already coming down the stairs, a beach ball tucked under her arm. "I'm ready!" she beamed.

"Carly I'm not going to the beach for fun! I'm going for research!" I told her, making sure I kept my voice level down. She didn't stop, grabbing me by the collar and taking me toward the elevator.

"I wanna go Freddie. You can go do your research while I soak up some rays. I heard it's going to be a nice warm sunny day." She said, pushing me into the elevator and out into the main lobby.

At least the bus ride was uneventful like the last time that I took it. The only difference was that this time I had company. And by company I meant not being able to look at the girls in their skimpy bikinis because Carly would probably call me a pervert.

"How did you know which bus route to take Freddie?" she asked me as more and more passengers were taking up space.

"I researched it before I left the house." I lied. I never told her about the time that I ditched school and came to the beach by myself.

"You must have been up for a while then," she said, skeptically looking at me.

"Yup, I've been thinking about going to the beach for a while so…" and we left it at that, watching more and more people with surfboards, sand equipment, and swimsuits. I tried keeping my focus from staring at the latter, keeping my focus on the sticky bus floor instead.

We arrived at the beach when everything was still cold and had a light cover of mist over the town. As we stepped off the bus and felt it take off behind us, I had no idea where to go to get any answers to what I wanted to ask.

Oh. Crap.

"So, why did you want to come so early Freddie?" Carly asked me.

"I really have no idea." I admitted. She just shrugged her shoulders and started walking towards the beach houses. "Well come on, there's no point in staying stuck at the bus stop now is there?" and continued down the path. I felt my feet moving in the same direction.

What a let down. I came all this way for nothing. Again. Why did I always do things that were pointless? I kicked the ground over and over as I followed Carly to the beach, and when we hit the sand I was still kicking, making the sand fly up in the air and into my mouth. Yup, this is what I get.

The mist was still crowding the beach more than the residents of the town, but on occasion I would see a person jogging on the beach or a surfer in a black swim suit ready to jump some morning waves. But as for the huge crowds like I always expect during the days, they were minimal, if at all.

"Kinda wish I would have brought a heavier sweater," I heard Carly laugh a bit uneasy.

"Maybe we can find something at the shops at the pier," I said, leading the way. It wasn't like me to be the leader but I brought her into this mess, I might as well try to make it better.

"Oh, that's okay Freddie, maybe we can find something in the stores away from the beach?" Carly recommended. I got it, she wanted to get away from the beach, where the salty sea breeze was sending shivers down her spine I bet. And not in the good way.

"Sounds like a good idea," I said, but I really wanted to head out towards the pier. If anything, that will be where I can find answers, it was where I saw Sam before dive in, supposedly.

"Freddie, are you coming?" Carly asked me.

"I got my phone on me, call me if you find something over there, I'll check the pier since I have jeans on."

"Okay, I'll text you," she said, and walked over away from the ocean. I, on the other hand walked towards it.

If there were any answers to what I was looking for, they would have to be in the ocean. I don't know where to begin, but the ocean was the best start in my defense.

The pier was just as lonely as the beach, with only a few fishermen attempting to catch unsuspecting gills. Everything was eerily quiet as the fishing rods orchestrated a sound that the waves were following in motion. Coughing and huddled up like independent penguins, the fishermen would cast lines over and over again, as soon as I reached thee end of the pier, I turned away from the ocean and it's hard winds.

This was a bad idea.

I didn't know why I just couldn't wait until it got a little bit more sunny. My desperation to finding out more about this seashell bracelet and that blonde shrew. I still don't understand why she is always mad at me one second, and soothing the next.

"Sun'll come up sooner or later kid, then the sea will come alive," a fisherman beside me said. It was weird because he had a really feminine voice. Almost like a girl's voice.

"Um, yeah, alive," I said, lost at words.

"Names Lana," the fisherman said.

"Lana, isn't that a-"

"Girl's name," she said, lifting her hat to show her face. A female fisherman! A fisherwoman!

"You look surprised boy named…"

"Freddie, I'm sorry I just never met a…"

"Female fisherman? Yeah we are a rare breed, but in all honesty," she leaned in, and I couldn't help but smell the same aroma of the sea. Like Sam did. "We are lousy fish catchers, that's why there's not many of us," She flashed me a smile, commas appearing on both sides of her smile and her eyes were as big as pearls, with crow's feet that made her look more regal instead of older. Her eyes didn't sparkle as much as Sam's did, but there was something in them that made me curious to keep staring at them. "So, what brings you to the ocean so bright and early Freddie?" she asked as she brought up her line to cast it out again in one fluid motion.

"Uh, nothing really," I said. I didn't know how much I would want to tell a complete older stranger about my sad life story, "Just wanted to take in the sea air, you know?"

"Haha that's a lie if I ever heard one," she said, "No one likes smelling the ocean, if you wanted that smell, you should have gone to a fish market by your house or something. You came for a different reason I'm sure. And I bet it has something to do with that bracelet on your wrist."

"How-" She let her line drop into the water again and plopped the pole beside her empty bucket. She came closer to me and pulled my long sleeve further apart to show the girly bracelet.

"You gay?"

"No!"

"Then your girlfriend gave you that bracelet," she said.

"I don't have a girlfriend," I stammered.

"Then why wear it?"

"Look, its a long story," I began but she stopped me.

"_Pulsera del Mar_ doesn't take that long to explain to a folk and myth lore expert like myself."

"You have a degree in this or are you a book hoarder like my mom?"

"I don't really feel the need to study. But I do know more about that bracelet than silly books," she said bringing in her line, "Sun is coming, and the ocean comes alive," she said as the sun began warming my face. She pulled off her hat and I saw her red hair flow out as if gravity had no part in her life, slow and delicate down to her waist.

"No luck for the eight hundredth time. Maybe I should just give up on this job," she said with a little too much enjoyment."Come on fish boy," she said, leading away from the pier.

"I don't get it, if the ocean comes alive when the sun comes out, why don't you fish then?" I ask. She smiled as she turned to look at me, her hair moving as if she were underwater. Slow.

"We can talk about that bracelet and then maybe I'll answer your question."

She led me away from the ocean and into a small little shop just a little less than a mile from the beach. The shop looked like it sells all different kinds of shells. But none of the shells were broken or chipped. Each one looked in perfect condition, as if she knew a cove where all the shells are in mint condition like a boxed Galaxy Wars figurine.

"Please no touching the shells," an old lady said in the back counter.

"Relax, Moana," Lana said, "If he knows what's good for him, he won't touch," she said playfully. The old lady named Moana looked at me without seeing me. Her eyes looked through me in a cloud of white misting over them. That's when I realized she was blind. I started waving my hands in her direction to see just how blind she was. She didn't react to any of my movements, meaning she didn't care or she was really really blind.

"Knock it off," she said as I started shaking my chest, making me freeze just as I was about to bust a move.

"How-"

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm deaf," she said hotly "I can hear your clumsy feet attempting to dance."

"Give him a break Moana," Lana said pulling out a box from the back storage. She placed the box in my possession, certain that I wouldn't drop it as she rummaged through it.

"What you got there?" Moana said, curious to the noises coming from her incessant rustling.

"This boy has a _pulsera del mar_," she said over her shoulder, "I'm trying to see if I have what he's searching for, or if I already gave it away."

"Impossible, the princess wouldn't give it away so carelessly to a boy," Moana said.

"Princess?"

"Oh, well, cat's out of the bag, luckily," she pulled out a book from the depths of the box, "You have this to help you out with finding out our truth."

"Your truth?" I said, taking the book from her as she traded me for the box. I looked at the book, the cover shining like the inside of a shell. The title just said, "Aquarious."

"Tell me about the girl that gave you the bracelet," she said, guiding me into the back storage of the room. She pushed out a chair for me as she sat across from me, "Was she young or old? Big? Hair color? Everything you can remember."

She wanted me to explain Sam? How do I even begin?

"She was blonde, about my height, blue eyes, lightly tanned like she knew when enough was enough. Big lips, normal everything in the body department, not that I was looking or paying much attention-"

"You sure you aren't gay? Most boys would pay attention to those features," she said with a smile.

"I'm not most boys," I said.

"Anything else," she said, taking the book from me, and flipping through the pages.

"She smelled," I closed my eyes, "Like seaweed and salt water, just like the ocean, but more pure."

"Is this her?" she asked, turning the book over to me. I took a gander as I looked face to face with pictures of mermaids, red, brown, black, and strikingly golden yellow hair. Brown eyes, green eyes, purple eyes, bright blue eyes. Some smiling, others serious, but the one thing they all had in common was their bodies morphed into scales and fins as you looked further down at their anatomy. In the center, there was no doubt about it, was Sam, looking serious, and beside her that big surfer dude, and to the left of him, Marina looking at Sam.

"Yeah," I said, "But how?"

"Samantha, the future queen of the sea," Lana said, "It would have been me, but I liked the sand warmed by the sun, not cold in the ocean."

"I still don't understand," I said, skeptical as all hell.

"We exist Freddie," Lana said simply, "And this is a gift as well as a warning," she grabbed my hand and showed me the bracelet.

"Mermaids aren't real," I said. I could feel my face tense and determined.

"But we are," she said simply, "We just have been very cleverly hiding ourselves in the bottom of the oceans."

She got up from where she was sitting and walked a bit around the room, as if she felt she still had fins and was swimming around the room.

"We have been cautious ever since the beginning, when man went into the water with their gigantic boats and fishing and maiming everything for the sake of eating. Their excuses.

"I was born in Aquarious, that city that you see here. When I was still a mermaid, my father was king and protector of Aquarious. I was his only living heir, and after him, I would have become queen of Aquarious. But I had to marry as well. No queen can rule alone in the city. But I did not want to marry, and I didn't want to be queen, but my father didn't care, I was to marry and rule for as long as I lived.

"When he announced my engagement to the city, I would often hide away from the city, going to the outskirts and slowly began going up into the surface. The first time I felt sun hit my face, touch my hair, I knew that I wanted to live out there. And my father was furious at my proposal of going to the beach. He was more afraid than anything, because I was his only child, and he didn't want to risk losing me. I promised him I would be careful and even told him that I would take a maid, Moana, with me. That was the only way I could get him to agree.

"I came to the surface in the middle of the night, and was scared and wondering what happened to the beautiful warmth I felt so long ago. And before I knew it I saw the sun coming up from far away, and fell in love with it. I knew I never wanted to go back to the depths of the ocean. My heart fell in love with the sun at the age of 14.

"I sent a letter with Moana telling my father that I would not return to the ocean. I didn't hear back from him or her for almost twenty years. Then I found Moana once again when I was walking on the pier, and she told me that my father died of a broken heart that I caused so long ago. She was blind, probably from old age or punishment, or both, and handed me that book you're holding in your hands. It explains the new king of Aquarious, King Sheldon, and his only living child, a girl named Samantha.

"I only met her once, and quite quickly. She knew who I was and simply asked me how I did it. How I managed to become human. I couldn't help her with that. My father granted me too much freedom, that I didn't need the ocean to survive, but Samantha's father is more cunning." She looked at me, "How many times have you seen Sam?" she asked.

"Maybe, like once every month, why?"

"There's a reason for that. You see, her father didn't want to suffocate his only daughter, he dotes on her, but is also protective and carries her best interest or so he says. Every full moon is when the sea touches the sand more than any other time of the month, is the only time Sam is granted permission to come out of the ocean and be human."

"What happens if she stays outside longer?" I asked.

"She risks the chance of dying," She said, "A mermaid can't survive without water."

"You do," I said. Lana smiled.

"I do, you're right, but that is also my curse."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go into the ocean ever again," she said simply. "Sam's father made sure that when he sent Moana back to me, it was to convey a message. A message that said simply, I was banished from the ocean. I can't let the ocean touch me or I it. He didn't want me to infect the rest of the mer-children with fantasies of the outside world. I was a danger also because I was the rightful ruler after my father, if I chose to come back to Aquarious, people would possibly want me as a queen instead of King Sheldon."

"This can't be true," I said, too skeptical to believe any of this, "You aren't a mermaid, Sam's not a mermaid, all this is just a really good thought out joke right? Where's the camera for Sucker of the Week? I'll look right into the lens, is it in this shell here?"

"Let me tell you about the bracelet, it's what you came here for right fish boy? And after that you can choose to believe any of this or not."

I sat back down and let her hold my wrist that held the bracelet.

"This bracelet is a protection. If you ever fall into the ocean, you can be rescued by the mermaid who gave it to you and save you and send you to shore. But, it's also a warning. A warning to keep you safe and away from us. This king, he will know who you are by having this bracelet. He will know that you have met Sam, that you have seen her, and that she has seen you. If you fall into the ocean, you run the risk of running into him as easily as you can with her. Each bracelet that is made is made specifically for a person, so they know who it is and so the right mermaid can save them. But each mermaid interrelated will know that person as well, which means if Sam made this, then Sam's father also knows who you are." She let go of my hand.

"So I can meet a king?"

"Please fish boy, I don't want you get hurt. This king is much different than my own father. Although he was angry, my father was not a vengeful person. He was good natured by heart. That's why he was accepting of my decision, or at least I thought he was. This king will not hesitate. If he feels anything in his life is threatened, which includes Sam, he will strike."

"But how can I see Sam if I don't risk jumping into the ocean?"

"You shouldn't be impatient Freddie, the full moon is next week. You might want to mark your calendars for future meetings with the girl."

"Can you help me?" I asked sheepishly.

"I can arrange a little something if that's what you are asking. But first, do you believe me with everything I just said?"

I didn't know how to answer her. I was still incredibly skeptical about the whole thing, but at the same time, I couldn't help but begin to become a believer. If anything, Lana would help me see Sam again, which was what I wanted more than beliefs in the supernatural underwater world.

"It's possible," I said.

"If that's the best I can get out of you, I will have to take it," she said, "Come back next week Freddie, I'll try catching her before she heads out to wherever she goes on land."

I felt her hand rest on my back and I couldn't help but ask her one more thing. Well, two more things.

"Lana, why tell me all this? And why help me with Sam?"

"I see a lot of me in her," she said, "She has the same attitude I had when I was that age. Maybe she just hasn't found that reason for deciding what she wants in life like I did, but I will try helping her any way I can."

"Well, thanks for that I guess," I said, still holding onto the book, "Oh, and here-"

"You have some reading to do fish boy. Hold onto it until next time," she winked.

"I'll see ya?" I said, unsure of how I was going to lie my way out from my mother's grasp for next week.

"Sure thing. Oh," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled business card. "That's my telephone number, if you need anything be sure to reach me. Moana is a great driver." She laughed. It was good to know she had a strange sense of humor. I thanked her and walked out of the store.

I pulled out my phone and stored the number before texting Carly. I didn't realize but the sun was much stronger, and my instinct was to walk over to the beach to look for her there.

I felt the sun touch my forehead, inflame my skin, and knew what Lana was talking about falling in love with an inanimate object. After spending such long time in that cramped space of a store, it was nice to feel the sun on your face and freedom to move around, using your legs, not fins.

Oh god, what am I getting myself into?


End file.
